In the Duke University Water Reclamation Pond, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects designed a five-hectare, multi-purpose project that reduced the school’s reliance on potable water. The project won a 2018 AZ Award for Environmental Leadership.

An inventive water-distilling device, a community-focused guest house and a hostel providing in-patient treatment to Indigenous Australians prove that design can be a powerful agent for social change. Here are the recipients of the 2018 AZ Awards of Merit in the Social Good category.